Autism Research in Arkansas

Dr. James will present for the first time the metabolic and behavioral results of a 3
month open label clinical intervention trial testing the efficacy of methylcobalamin and
folinic acid in children diagnosed with autism. She will also discuss the design of an
on-going NIH-funded prospective study that will determine whether reduced methylation
and glutathione-mediated antioxidant/detoxification capacity precedes the diagnosis
of autism. Positive results would provide predictive biomarkers of autism risk and
provide metabolic targets for intervention to delay and possibly prevent the development
of autism.
In addition, she will present the study design of an ongoing doubleblind
placebo-controlled study of nutritional intervention in children with autism that will
have metabolic, behavioral, and immunological endpoints. Finally she will announce
the launching of the Arkansas Autism Alliance and the Autism Treatment Network at
Arkansas
Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.